Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 rankings for 2021-22 after NBA Draft deadline

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) dunks the ball against the Eastern Washington Eagles during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
19 of 27
Next
NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Matthew Mayer Baylor Bears (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball NBA Draft Matthew Mayer Baylor Bears (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

. . . Bears . 9. team. 460

After winning the national title and giving the program its first in school history, it was a foregone conclusion that the star guard trio of Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, and Jared Butler was going to enter and stay in the NBA Draft. The frontcourt was a little more up in the air with senior big Mark Vital and sharpshooter Matthew Mayer.

It ended up working out for the Bears, as Vital graduated and moved on expectedly, while Mayer went through the process and came back for another year. He has all the tools to break out and have a leading role for a team that won’t be rebuilding whatsoever next season.

In the backcourt, Adam Flagler will be back with a larger role, along with sophomore guard LJ Cryer. But the team brought in Arizona starting point guard James Akinjo, who averaged 15.6 ppg and 5.4 apg last season. Former D-II star Dale Bonner adds some depth in the backcourt, while five-star wing Kendall Brown could be one of the biggest impact freshmen in the country next season.

While this team doesn’t have the same kind of star power it did last year, look for both Mayer and big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to take leading roles in both the frontcourt and overall, as Baylor looks to defend its Big 12 and national title. Head coach Scott Drew finally got his long-overdue respect and look for him to continue developing players into all-conference talent.

Home/NCAA Basketball News